The Pittsburgh Steelers needed wide receiver help this offseason. On Monday, they made the first move to address that, reportedly trading for Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. Shortly after that, the Steelers and Pittman reportedly agreed to a three-year contract.
Pittman will be a quality wide receiver option opposite WR DK Metcalf, regardless of who is playing quarterback. But just who is Michael Pittman Jr.? Here are five things to know about the Steelers’ newest wide receiver.
Family Pedigree
Michael Pittman Jr. isn’t the first member of his family to play in the NFL. His father, Michael Pittman Sr., played running back in the NFL for 11 seasons. He spent his first four years with the Arizona Cardinals before playing six years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one final season with the Denver Broncos. While with the Buccaneers, Pittman Sr. carried the ball 29 times for 124 yards in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Pittman Jr.’s younger brother, Mycah, played college football at Oregon, Florida State, and Utah.
Three-Way Player In HS
Michael Pittman Jr. was a star wide receiver for Oaks Christian School in California. The list of accolades he earned in his senior year is a mammoth one. He caught 81 passes for 1,990 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2015. The final game of his high school career? He caught 16 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns.
However, Pittman did not just make plays on offense his senior season. As a safety, he tallied 31 tackles while picking off one pass and knocking down another. He also left a mark on special teams, returning 17 kicks for 477 yards and a touchdown, along with 14 punt returns for 148 yards.
A Love For The Outdoors
If you think of California and wide receivers, you might think about divas. However, that was never Pittman. He grew up with a love for the outdoors. And where he grew up, that meant the water.
“Once I got older, we started fishing the ocean,” Pittman said in an interview with the Colts’ website. “Because in California, at least in southern California, I’d say the most outdoorsy wild that you could get is probably the Pacific Ocean. So, I started fishing the beach, started spearfishing, which combined two of my favorite things, which is fishing and hunting.”
Despite moving away from California, that love for the outdoors never dissipated.
Owns A Farm
Pittman began dating his wife, Kianna, back in high school. They both attended USC together, and they got married. According to Pittman, his wife has always loved the outdoor life. So, the two of them bought a farm in Indiana where they have horses, cows, goats, and chickens.
“She loves this,” Pittman said in an interview with the YouTube channel Trenches in 2024. “This is her dream lifestyle. She’s never been into designer stuff, not into fancy cars. She just loves horses and being outdoors.”
The farm isn’t just for Pittman’s wife, though. It had a profound impact on him too.
“It really helped me kind of perform throughout the season,” Pittman said in an interview with the Colts’ website. “Because you go through highs and lows, but every single morning, I was getting up early, I was feeding these animals, I was watching the sunrise, I was watching the sunset. It just makes you grateful.”
Secret Talent? Juggler
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that an NFL wide receiver is good with his hands. Yet Pittman takes it to another level. He and his wife, Kianna, sat down with Whistle to do the NFL Power Couple challenge, and Kianna could not figure out what his secret talent was.
So, Pittman demonstrated by taking a glass jar of ginger, a lemon, and an avocado and successfully juggled them. This was while the jar of ginger leaked, at least according to him.
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